Manila (Part 3)- Live Richer, While Spending Less by Retiring Early in the Philippines

Food Summary- The quickest way to burn through your retirement budget is going out to restaurants and clubs and spending on pricey imported alcohol and international foods.

Both are disproportionately expensive in Manila. Purchasing fresh local veggies and cooking at home, eating out at more causal or even local restaurants, and cutting back on going out on the weekends will result in a much much much smaller monthly expense. Part 3 of the Ultimate Retirement Guide to Manila provides real life examples of both the High-End dining and Budget eats.

Wet/Farmers Markets:
I mentioned the hip, but well-organized and pricier weekend markets- Salcedo Saturday Market and Legazpi Sunday Market in Part 1. These weekend markets focus on organic fruit and vegetable shopping while having tasty street food ready to eat. Both these markets are like hipster Farmers Markets in the US, and I have no problem recommending them for veggies or prepared meals. These markets will same you some money over the supermarkets, but to really shop like a local, you’ll need to brave some of the wet and dry markets in the area.

Be warned, these are open-air markets, not scrubbed and sanitized Western supermarkets. These markets feed thousands of local families, so I generally considered them safe, though their dirty appearance and smell can seem otherwise. Visiting the markets are an experience in themselves, but not for someone overly concerned with sterilization and appearance. Also, if you are an expat, you are unlikely to be offered the best price. Your best bet is to send your driver or maid with a shopping list and have them pick the best fruits and vegetables and bargain with the vendors. 

S & R:
S & R is the Filipino version of Costco, complete with 100% all-beef hot dogs and a drink on sale for ~$2. It’s my favorite place to stock up on imported things that I miss from the US: your favorite snack chips, imported whiskey, Australian ribeye steaks, etc. It’s a warehouse club with discounted goods bought in bulk.

Grocery Stores:
SM Hypermart- A Western-style supermarket that would not seem out of place in any town in the US. The pricing will be cheaper than the US for essential goods (soaps, local produce, toothbrushes, bread, etc.), but expect to pay for anything gourmet or imported. If you want the best imported extra sharp cheddar cheese for your Taco Tuesday night, it will cost you more than what you pay in MCOL city in the US. Out of pure convenience, this will likely be where you do the bulk of your grocery shopping.

High-End Stores:
Rustans- If SM Hypermart is similar to the standard supermarket in the US, then Rustans is the Filipino Whole Foods. Definitively catering to the upmarket and discerning clientele, Rustans stocks the best products in the country and from abroad. Expats consider this the best supermarket Manila with the best quality meats and an extensive imported section if you're looking for some imported ingredients or exotic spices. Rustans is where you go if you are looking for truffle-infused oils from Italy for your risotto or a pinch of saffron for your paella.

Especially if your last shopping experience was one of the wet markets I mentioned in the section above, walking into Rustans is like taking a stroll in my old Hipster Neighborhood Whole Foods in the US. The interiors are spacious, brightly lit, well organized, and scrubbed to a reflective and clean polish. Light jazz plays in the background, while I cruise the aisles of imported wines. The scent of fresh-baked bread and rotisserie chicken waft through the air and fill my nose, while I marvel at the selection of imported cheeses.

If shopping for delicious food makes you hungry, Rustans has a reasonably priced food court and deli so that you can grab a bite after shopping.

Street Food: Our street food scene is not for the inexperienced. Manila is not a famous street food mecca like Bangkok or Penang. Yes, cheap meats and dishes are available on the street, but the taste, quality, consistency, and sanitation are not at levels I could feel comfortable recommending. The exception to this is the prior mentioned Salcedo and Legazpi weekend markets. Those are freaking delicious.

Local Eats (Mang Inasal)- This local chain is one of my favorite places to eat in Manila. Inasal (meaning chargrilled or roasted meat) is chicken marinated with a local lime (calamansi) and a mixture of spices, then grilled over smoky coals while being continuously basted with the marinade to keep the meat juicy and outside saturated with flavor. Mang Inasal serves its chicken with the ever-present Filipino white rice and a dipping sauce of soy sauce, oil, calamansi, and hot pepper-infused vinegar. I’m drooling at the smoky, spicy, tart, and tasty memories of eating this chicken.

A Filipino success story, this chain was founded in 2003 by a 26 year old local, Edgar Sia, who eventually sold it off seven years later for $68.8 million. Regardless of my business admiration for this guy, his chicken is delicious and cheeeeaaaap! A two-piece (drumstick and thigh or breast and leg) with all-you-can-eat rice is roughly $2.

Casual Restaurants (El Chupacabra)- I immigrated to the US at age seven and spent much of my adult life on the West Coast. I’ve been around crispy carnitas, street-style tacos, and homemade pico since before puberty. Consuming late-night burritos “as-big-as-my-head” was a rite of passage at my university. As I traveled the world, I have come to realize that hoping to find good Mexican food anywhere outside of North America is just asking for disappointment. My first bite at El Chupacabra was on a Tinder date. Remembering the authentic flavors of carnitas pork mixed with handmade grilled corn tortilla bits hit my tongue is a more pronounced memory than the date I had that night. I consider finding a decent Mexican restaurant outside of North America as scoring twice that night. This place is the real thing.

El Chupacabra is a proper hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the heart of the Makati Red Light district called Poblacion. While the area is slowly shedding its seediness for a bit of hipster charm, expect some interesting people watching, if you choose the outdoor tables, vs. the more insulated interior seats. White-collar local Pinoys and Expats sip cheap cold beers in equal numbers here.

The street tacos are the star of the show. El Chupacabra serves this classic in its most authentic form. Basic in its simplicity, the but complex in its flavor: Griddled corn tortilla, marinated and chargrilled protein, pico de gallo salsa, generous amounts of torn cilantro, chopped onions, and half a lime. The lime being the sole deviation, where the street tacos veer from their authenticity and use local Filipino key limes (calamansi) vs. their more tart green lime cousins.

The meats are charcoal grilled to order and formidably spiced, the cilantro is fresh and abundant, so eat bite has a burst of flavor. Different homemade flavored and spiced salsas are available to add even more oomph to each bite. Each mouth-watering-grease-dripping-on-my-hands-making-me-lick-my-fingers-its-sooooo-good taco is a wallet happy ~$2, with more promotions and happy hours available daily.

Our cheap street foods don’t compare to Thailand, Penang, or Vietnam. Our high-end dining costs as much as fine dining options in the US or Western Europe. However, our mid-tier restaurants have affordable value and surprisingly tasty selections. It is the intersection where price and quality meet to eat in Manila.

Ziggurats- One of the OG restaurants in Makati. Even before Poblacion became a hipster haven, Ziggurats was dishing out exotic fare from their corner spot- by exotic, I mean they serve a selection of delicious eats ranging from India, Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.